Southampton, Portsmouth, and Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole (BCP) are the economic engines of the ‘Central South’, a region which is well-placed to realise its potential and deliver growth, according to the latest research by Savills.
But what are the catalysts to achieving large-scale growth and innovation in the region, and what are the barriers and constraints to overcome?
With a population of nearly 950,000 people and around 495,000 jobs, the similar sized urban centres have often competed with each other, rather than complementing one another. The lack of a clearly defined geographical area, straddling both the South East and South West regions, has been a further blocker to the collective promotion of the region.
In recent years, there has been a more concerted effort, by businesses and politicians alike, to promote the collective benefits of the region. Despite its advantages, the Central South has numerous physical, land and planning constraints and therefore currently under delivers, but it has the opportunity to realise its potential and growth ambitions as a region, according to Savills.
Turning brain drain into brain gain
Attracting and retaining the best talent is central to creating innovation-led growth in the Central South. With a combined total student population of 83,000 and six major universities, Southampton, Portsmouth and BCP make a huge contribution to both the cultural offer and knowledge-based sectors across the area. They also have a diverse workforce in terms of skills and qualifications, compared with the national average.
But only 19%, equal to 4,200 graduates, end up staying on for work where they studied. And high value sectors such as ‘professional, scientific & technology’, ‘information & communication’ and ‘financial & insurance’, central to innovation-led growth, are all under-represented by graduates, relative to the national average.
It isn’t the case that the universities aren’t creating the skilled graduates to enter these high value employment sectors. It is likely the lack of employment opportunities are driving graduates away in search of work elsewhere. Across these three core high-value sectors, around 1,550 graduates are employed in either Southampton, Portsmouth or BCP each year. However 4,900 graduates from those same places, move away and take up jobs in those same high-value industries.
The Solent Freeport
The Solent Freeport has a fundamental role in supporting organisations seeking to tap into the talent emerging from local universities, other educational bodies and the wealth of skills particularly in the marine and aviation sectors. Within the Freeport, Tax Zone status is designated to a number of sites including Fawley Waterside, Navigator Quarter (at Southampton Airport) and Southampton Docks. This is designed to attract innovative and technology-based organisations through incentives including business rates relief amongst others. Attracting these organisations will greatly improve graduate retention within the Central South.
Housing and infrastructure
Better planning for employment and improvements to infrastructure, facilitating greater connectivity across the Central South, will support existing businesses but also attract new commercial occupiers and inward investment. As a result, an enhanced business offering will create more high-value job opportunities to attract and retain talent in the region.
Building more homes in the right places, across a range of price points and a diverse range of tenures, is key to unlocking growth and supporting the retention of a highly skilled workforce for the long term. Strategic planning to deliver a more joined up approach to growth across the Central South is fundamental in order to overcome land and planning constraints currently preventing new supply from coming forward.
Colin Wilkins, development director at Savills Southampton, says: “Looking ahead, education is undoubtedly a ticket to economic growth, but keeping graduates here is the fundamental challenge. London will always be a draw for many but the Central South region already excels in sectors such as human health and the marine sector, while having growth ambitions in other high-value industries such as professional, scientific and tech, which should help turn the ‘brain drain’ into a ‘brain gain’ for the region.”
Gavin Hall, planning director at Savills Southampton, adds: “With a well-educated workforce, freeport status and excellent national and international transport links, not to mention an attractive coastal offer, the Central South region is well placed to deliver growth. More housing in the right places is key to supporting this, with public transport and infrastructure improvements also having a key role to play in order to make more jobs accessible to more people and to unlock more sites with capacity to deliver housing.”
Gavin sits on the Central South All Party Parliamentary Group and will be tackling all these aspects over the course of this year, alongside key Central South partners.
A delegation of over 45 partners across the Central South will be promoting the region at MIPIM, the leading global international property showcase, in Cannes in two weeks.
